Simply fashionable

No matter the decade, smart track attire is always in style

WILL WALDRONModels show off a decade worth of hats made by Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. (Nancy Matt)

WILL WALDRONModels show off a decade worth of hats made by Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. (Nancy Matt)

WILL WALDRONModels show off a decade worth of hats made by Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. (Nancy Matt)

WILL WALDRONDisplay of hats made by Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. (Nancy Matt)

WILL WALDRONModels show off a decade worth of hats made by Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. (Nancy Matt)

For many trackgoers, horseshoes and jockey dressings don't matter as much the Christian Louboutins and the LBDs (little black dresses) revelers, spectators and bettors are sporting.

The tradition of fashion is at the forefront during racing season for many heading to Saratoga each summer.

"It has certainly been the case since the inception of thoroughbred racing and women attending the races," says Joanne Adams, NYRA's community relations director. "There has long been this great pageantry in this sport."

The latter is due, in part, because horse racing started as a sport of kings and horse owners were exceedingly wealthy. Fine fashions were — and still are, in many cases — associated with wealth.

This fashion fascination at the track dates back to the early 1900s when people got dressed up whenever they went out. The dedication to smart dressing surged in the 1940s, a time when women wore hats to church and skirts or dresses on airplanes and, well, suits and freshly polished shoes or dresses (with stockings, no bare legs back then) to the track.

"It didn't matter how much money they had, they just always took great pride in what they wore," says Adams.

Hats and high heels continued through the 1970s and 1980s. Women wore large-brimmed hats with lace and flowers, says Nancy Matt, owner of Le Beau Chapeau Millinery in Loudonville. They channeled the Victorian area, investing time — and funds — into their track-day attire.

The decline, if that's what you want to call it, didn't start till the 1990s, says Matt. While the men's look remained constant — a suit or jacket and pants — women's fashions evolved. Flat shoes (or kitten heels) and capri pants became common. Hats got smaller, and the brims more clipped. Opulence was shown through being decked in jewels, or by toting a designer handbag.

And now we have the modern-day apparel. A look that's been inspired, in part, by the royals, says Matt. Women fancy facinators, headbands and brimless hats. They embrace bling — on their headpieces and their clothing — but their overall look is simple, from tip to toe.

"These days, it really is about a more relaxed headwear to go with the relaxed clothing style," Matt says.